Computing mechanism



Oct. 16 1923. 1,471,009

F. B. MULFORD ET AL CUMPUTXNG MECHANISM Fied Feb. 19, 1921 6Sheets-Sheet l fx ff F. B. MULFORD ET AL Oct. 16

CUMPUTING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 19, 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 16 1923'.1,471,000

F. B. MuLFoRD ET AL CUMPUTING MECHANI SM VFiled Feb. 19, 1921 6sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 16 1923.

F. B. MULFORD ET AL CUMPUT ING MECHANI SM Filed Feb. 19, 1921 6Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 16 1923. 1,471,000

F. B. MULFORD ET Al.

GUMPUT ING MECHANI SM Filed Feb. 19. 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Q\ m m /4/ VOct. 16 1923.

F. B. MULFORD ET AL CUMPUT ING MEQHANI SM Filed Feb. 19; 1921 6Sheets-Sheet 6 W Qn. .1.

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Patented Oct. 16, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK B. HULFORD, OF ST. LOUI-S, MISSOURI, AND JOHN DAVID DICKINSON, OFCHI- CAGO, ILLINOIS; SAID DICKINSON ASSIGNOB TO MULFORD.

COHPUTING MECHANISH.

Application led February 19, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK B. MULFORD and JOHN Dawn DroxiNsoN, citizensof the United States, residing, respectively, at St.

Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, and Chicago, inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain newand useful Im rovement in Computing Mechanism, of Whlch the following isfull, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in computing mechanism, and it isparticularly concerned with the provision of a new and improvedcomputing mechanism for determining the proper postage to be applied toa package to be mailed to -a destination 2 located in any given postalzone. While this is the principal object of our invention, it isnotvlimited to this use, but may be used for computing other valuesdepending upon two variable quantities.

u The objects of our invention are:

First: To provide a computin me/shanism for determining values whic aredependent upon two variable quantities.

Second: To provide a mechanism of the character described comprisingmeans for printing the result of each determination.

Third: To provide mechanism ofl the character described by which thecomputingr value is printed upon a medium which can be attached to avpackage or other article.

Fourth: To provide a member having a plurality of rows or series of typefigures, wherein the values of the inumbers in cach row or seriesprogressively increase, means fi for co-acting with the type gures forproducing a printed impression upon a suitable medium, preferably apaper strip, and means for positioning said member and its tto-actingmeans controlled by a weighing mechanism or some other mechanism whichis actuated in accordance with asecond variable quantity.

Fifth: To provide a computing mesha nism of the character described.wherein a weighing mechanism is employed for de termining the positionot the membersfor Serial No. 448,517.

making the printed impressions upon the receptive medium.

Sixth: To provide a computing mechanism comprising a weighing mechanismand means for indicating a value proportional to the weight of theobject weighed.

Seventh: To provide a computing mechanism comprising means for making aprint ed impression proportional in value to the weight of an object,and

Finally: To provide a mechanism of the character described which issimple in construction, economical tov manufacture, rugged, and easy tooperate.

Other objects will appear as this de# scription progresses, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an endelevation of the mechanism embodying our invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 2-2of Figure 1.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are vertical transverse sections taken on lines 3 3,4-4 and 5 5 res ectively of Figure 2.

`igure 6 is an enlarged -sectional detail taken on line 6 6 of Figure 5.

Figure? is a longitiudinal substantially horizontal section taken online 7-17 of Figure 2, portions of the apparatus being shown inelevation.

Figure 8 is a vertical longitudinal sectionaldetail taken on line 8-8 ofFigure l, and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the drum forming a portion of ourinvention.

Throughout the several views, similar refercnce characters will refertosimilar parts, and the sections are taken looking in the diu rectionsindicated by the small arrows.

Referring to the drawings, our improved computing mechanism comprises acylindrical drum 1l), the periphery of which supports a pluralityY ofrows li of type figures, the figures of each row ot 'which are arrangedin ascending values corresponding to the postal charges for a givenzone. As shown in Figure 9, the zero positions or all of these rows liein a line extending lon'- gitudinaliy oli2 the drum, and substantial lyparallel with the axis thereof.' For the sake of clearness, the type inthis view have been reversed so as to read as the impressions would beprinted. The drum 10 is provided with two end plates, 12 and 13,respectively, the first of which is provided with a hub 14 to which issecured by means of the pin 15 one end of a shaft 16. The opposite endof the shaft 16 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 17, which is supportedby the pedestal 18. The pedestal 18 is in turn secured to a flange 19,extending upwardly from the' base casting of the machine by means ofscrews 20, or in any other suitable manner. The opposite 'end plate 13is provided with a hub 21, which is journaled upon a sleeve 22. Theouter end of the sleeve 22 is secured in a bore in the upper end of thepedestal 23 by means of a set screw 24, which prevents the sleeve fromrotating. The pedestal 23 is removably secured to the upstanding flange25 forming a part of the base casting by means of a screw 26.

For rotating the drum 10 upon the supports just described, we provide aspiral spring 28, the inner end of which is secured to a sleeve 29,which, in turn,'is rigidly secured to the sleeve 22 by means of the key30. The o posite end ofthe spring is seV cured to a s ieet metal drum 31by having its end wrapped about the pin 32, one end of which extendsthrough a projecting can 33' forming a part ci the drum, and the otherend of which extends through the end 34 of the drum as shown at 35. Aninternal gear 36 issecured to the drum 31 by means of the flange. 37,-which is formed integral with said gear. This gear 'meshes with yapinion 38 rigidly secured to one end of the shaft 39. The opposite endof the shaft 39 has a. gear 40 rigidly secured thereto, which mesheswith a pinion 41, which in turn is rigidly secured to a shaft 42, to theouter end of which is cured a large spur gear 43. The spur gear 43drives a pinion 44, which is rigidly secured to the shaft 45. rlhe uterend oi the shaft 45 has a spur gear 48 rigidly secured thereto. whichmeshes with the internal gear 47. which is suitably secured to the innerwail of the drum lo. The gearing just described forms multiplying gearsystem connecting the spring' 28 in driving relation with the drum 1.0.,and since, as it will appear. the drum 10 requires but very little powerrotating it. one wind-ing of the spring 28 will serve to drive the drum1i) through large nurnber of complete revolutions.

For a purpose which will later al near, we

l prefer to provide means for controlling the` ed of revolution of the'this 'p which is secured to one end of the sp 10, and

"il tu rpose we provideV an air vane i vane 50 will rotate atcomparatively high speed, thereby setting up a resistance tendin to slowdown the movement o the drum. The shafts 39, 42, 45 and 5l all indsuitable bearings in the plate 55, which is rigidly secured to the innerend of the winding stem 57 by a screw 56, which is rotatably mounted inthe sleeve 22, and the outer end of which projects through an openin 58in the cover plate 59, and is provide with a suitable handle 6() bymeans of which it can be rotated to Wind the spring in a manner whichwill be described later on. To prevent backward rotation of the stem 5Twe secure a ratchet 61 thereto, which is engaged by a suitable pawl 62pivotally mounted upon the pedestal 23 by means of a screw 63. Theratchet is held upon the stem 57 by means of a nut 64.

In the embodiment of our invention disclosed herein, the spring 28 iswound in such direction that during the operation of our machine theupper sidc of the drum in Figure 2 rotates away from the observer. Towind the spring, the handle is turned in the opposite direction, therebycarrying the plate 55 and the various shafts and gears mounted thereonwith it in the same direction. During the winding operation, the drum isheld stationary by means of a spri/ng-pressed pawl G5, which ispivotally mounted upon the upper end of the pedestal 23. and whichengages suitably formed ratchet teeth 65 on the hub of the end plate 13toprevent the drum from rotating in the direct-ion in which the handle60 is being turned.

We shall now describe the means which co-act with the type of thevarious rows oi' type figures to make printed impressions upon paperribbons, one side of which are gumrned so that they can be secured tothe packages weighed. Referring for the present to Figures 2 and 5, atransversely curved supporting pla-te is supported above the drum 10 bymeans of the upturned flanges T1 and 72, which are respectively securedto the housing by the screws 7 3 and 74. A plurality of shallow groovesextend transversely of the upper surface of the plate 'iO for receivingthe paper ribbons R. The

ribbons are held in the slots 75 by means of a second plate 78. thelower side of which conforms to the curvature of the plate 7G. The plate76 carried ly the downwardly projecting 4flanges '78 and 79 of the coverplate 8l). which forms a part oi'- the housing, and which is pivotallymounted upon the pintle 81. The ends of the-pintle 8l; are supported bythe lugs 82 and 83 projecting from. the adjacent stationary portions ofthe housing.

A stationary shaft has its opposite ends secured in and supported by the{langes 'i8 and il) of the cover plate, and extends just above andparallel with the late 76. A plurality of levers 86 are rotata 1y sup-)orted side by side upon the shaft 85, there ing one ot' these leversfor each of the ribbons R. At their forward ends, these levers eachsupport a platen 87, and a key 88. The plateus 87 are adapted toco-operate with the type of the corresponding rows 11 to makeimpressions upon the associated paper strips R.. A spring 89fcoiledaround the hub of each of the levers 86, and having one end inengagement with the cover, and the other pressing against the lower sideof the lever, provides means for holding the lever in its normal orretracted position. The keys 88 are each provided with a characterindicating one of t e postal zones,

It is possible to make the type of the rows 11 of such'character as tomake perforated impressionsin the paper ribbons, but we prefer toprovide means for making inked impressions, and for this purose weprovide the inking ribbon I, (see 4igs. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) which issupplied from a spool 90` which is rotatably mounted upon a pivot pin 91shown in Figure 7, and passes downwardly and beneath and thenhorizontally between the paper ribbons R and the bars 92 formed by theapertures 93 in the plate 76. through which the platens 87 are adaptedto pass. A takeup spool 95'is rotatably inbunted upon the pin 96, whichis supported from the casing 3 by a suitable bracket 97. A worm gear 98is secured to one side of the spool 95, and is dapted Vto be engaged bythe spiral thread 99 formed on the outer end of the drum10. The pitch ofthe thread 99 is 0 such that the gear 98 will be advanced one tooth foreach revolution of the drum 10. In this manner, the inking ribbon I willbe advanced a distance proportional to the pitch of the gear 98 therebinsuring a new inkin'g surface for eac' impression made by the platens87, although it will, of course, be apparent that the same portion ofthe ribbon must be usedmore vthan once in passing kfrom the extreme lefthand engl 'J of the drum in Figure 2 tothe right hand end. but thenumber of impressions thus made will not be suicient to exhaust the inkof the ribbon. i

By means about to be described, the pa- 5 per ribbons R can be advancedthrough the guideway and underneath the two lon- 'gitudinally extendingbars 100 and 101, which are spaced apart from eachother as shown in.Figure 5. and also vertically i" spaced from the top ol the supportingplate 102 which forms a cover trough 10J-3. At suitabh7 spacedintervals, the plate 102 is provided with openings through which thetelt disks 104 can pro- 5 ject into the trough 103. These disks are forthe water make it possible to print on the un-gummed surface of theribbon. The bar 101 is provided with a knife edge 106, which can be usedin detaching the printed portion of the paper ribbon.

For advancing the paper ribbons through' the corresponding guideways, weprovide a plurality of friction rolls 110 which can be made of rubber orany other suitable material, and which are rotatably mounted upon theshaft 111, which extends longitudinally of the cover plate, andhassuitable bearings in the two end portions of the` cover plate. Alower friction disk 112 coacts with each of the upper disks 110, and isprovided with side flanges 113. to assist in guiding the ribbon. Aratchet 114 is secured to each of the disks 110 to rotate therewith, andduring the return stroke of the platen is engaged by a pawl 115 which ispivoted at 116 to the rear end of the level' 86, and which is held inengagement with the ratchet 114 by the spring 117, which is coiled aboutthe pin 116, and has one end bearing against the pawl 115` and the otherend of which reactsagainst the upper edge of the lever 86. With thisconstruction it will be seen that after a platen 87 has been moveddownwardly to make an impression upon any given ribbon R., and is thenreleased, the lever 86 will be returned to its normal position by thespring 89, and at the same time the pawl 115 will engage the ratchet 114to rotate the disk 110, which by co-acting with the disk 112 will causethe paper strip to be advanced through the guide-ways 75, and betweenthe bars 100 and 1.01, and the supporting plate 102, and project bevondthe knife edge 106 in position to be torn off by the operator, andapplied to the package weighed. l

The paper ribbons are torn from suitable supply rolls 120, (Fig. 4)which are su ported by the sheet metal brackets 121, t e lower ends ofwhich are secured to a U- shaped channel 122 extending lengthwise of themachine b v rivets 123. as shown in Figure 4, and to the upper ends ofwhich are secured the U-shaped sheet. metal members 124, the arms ofwhich extend forwardly toward the front side of the machine. The rolls120 are supported from the arnis of the members 124 by means of thesheet metal hangers 125, the upper ends of which are flanged over asshown at 126 to be received in correspond ingly shaped notches formed inthe upper which is pivoted at 131 to the base portion of the casting canbe swung rearwardly to permit access to the paper ribbons. In Figures 1and 8, we have illustrated the means which we provide for supplyingwater to the trough 103. One end of the housing has a chamber 136 formedtherein7 which is sealed by an air-tight closure 137. A channel 138 isformed in the housing, and leads downwardly from the bottom of thechamber 136 to a well 139, which communicates with thetrough 103 throughthe conduit 140 formed integrally with the end well 135.

The upper side of the well 139 is open tov permit a finger to beinserted therein for closing the lower end of the channel 138. T'Viththe channel 138 thus closed, the chamber 136 can be filled with waterand the closure 137 replaced to seal the upper end ot the chamber 136.VVhen the finger is then removed, water will run into the well 139, theconduit 140 and the trough 103, filling these receptacles until thelevel of the water in the well 139 reaches the lower end of the channel138,'when the flow of water will cease, and will be resumed only whenwater is drawn from the trough 103 by the moistening devices describedabove.

Having thus described the means by which the impressions correspondingto the type figures on the drum can be made, we shall next describe themeans for determining the proper position of the drum for printing uponthe proper strip a number indicating the proper charge to be made forany given packztge mailed to anyV given Zone. For this purpose. we haveherewith illustrated portions of a standard weighing mechanismcomprising a platform tor receiving the packages to be weighed. Thisplatform is supported by a post 146. (Fig. 3) the lower end of which issupported by and pivotallv secured to the lever 147. by the hollow pin143. The lever 147 has one end pivotallv mounted upon the pin 149. Alink is pivotally supported upon the pin. 151. and its opposite end isconnected with the upper end ot' the post 146 b v a pivotal connection152. The length ot the link 150 is equal to the distance between thepivot vpins 148 and 149 so to canse the post 146 to move up and down ina vertical direction.

tree end of the lever 147 is provided with the strap 1471, the lowerendof which is secured to the lower end of the arcuate surface 147l by ascrew 147, and the upper end of which is secured to a yoke 152, which issupported by the straps 153 and 154 which are respectively wrapped aboutan supported by the cams 155 and 156, the ends of the straps beingsecured to these cams by the screws 157 and 158 respectively. These camsare rigidly secured to the shafts 159 and 160 respectively, to which arealso secured the smaller cams 161 and 162 respectively. The shafts 159and 160 are rotatably mounted in the opposite ends of a second yokeformed by the bars -163 and 164, (sec Figs. 4 and 7) between therespective ends ot which the two sets of cam-s referred to above arerespectively mounted. This yoke surrounds a frame comprising thevertical side members 165 and 166. and the cross bars 167 and 168. Thelatter bar comprises two lateral extensions from the bearing 17 which issnpportedby the pedestal 18 and supports the two vertical side members165 and 166. Two straps 169 and 170 have their upper ends secured to theupper ends of the vertical side members 169 and 170 by the screws 171and 172 respectively, and their lower ends secured to the lower ends ofthe cams 161 and 162 respectively by the screws 173 and 174respectively.

The lever 147 is balanced by a suitable adinstable counterweight 175,and the two shafts 159 and 160l are also provided with adjustablecounterweights 177 and 178 respectively.

rl`he weighing mechanism described above embodies certainmodifications'ot a standard weighing mechanism to adapt it to thepurpose at hand, and will give approxirmrtely equal increments indeflection for equal increments in load, although this is not anecessary requirement for the construction and proper operation of ourimproved mechanism, as it can be equally well adapted to the use of aweighing mechanism in which the movements throughout the entire range ofthe mechanism are not uniform for equal increments in loads.

The bar 164 (Fig. 4) comprises two bifurcations 164 and 164 in which thepin rotates. The lever 181 extends between :these two bifurcations. andhas one end secured to the pin 180 by means of a pin 182. Projectingdownwardly and inwardly from the lower side of the lever 181. is a pawl183, which is adapted to engage the teeth of th spiral ratchet 184, thenumber of teeth on the spiral ratchet corresponding in number to thenumber of type figures in each of the rows 11. so that for each advanceof one tooth of the spiral ratchet, the drum will be advanced to bringthe next set of type tigures beneath the platen. Since the inner teethof the spiral ratchet are nearer the lll) axis of the drum 10 than theouter teeth, this means that the length of the teeth must increase fromthe inner end of the spiral to the outer end thereof, as shown in Figure4. We have illustrated these teeth as being of substantially the sameheight, because, as described above, the weighing mechanism will givesubstantially equal increments in deflection for equal increments inload.

The lever 181 is yieldingly urged toward the bar 104 by the leaf spring185, one end of which is secured to the bar 164 by suitable rivets 186.and the other end of which engages a projection 187extending upwardlyfrom the lever iroper. In this manner, the pawl 1851 is yie dingly urgedtoward a position for engaging one of the teeth of the ratchet 184, theparticular tooth of which is thus engaged being determined by thevertical position of the pawl 183, which in turn is determined by theweight imposed upon the platform 145. The projection 187 also actsas astop to limit theinward movement of the paw] 183 under the tension ofthe spring 185.

The )awl 183 is normally held out of the path oi the teeth ofthe ratchet184 by the engagement between the lower end of the link 190 with thelaterally offset portion 191 (see Figure 7) of the free end of the lever181. The link 190 is supported by the two links 192 and 193, (Fig. 2)which are pivotall connected at 194 and 195 with the lilik. he otherends of the links 192 and 193- are pivotally secured to the verticalside member 165 vby the screws 195 and 196. (See Figure 2). T hepressure of the spring 185 against the projection 187, and the re-'sulting pressure of the end of the lever 181 upon the link 190 tends topush the link 190 inwardly and thus cause it to move upwardly on itspivot points. The tension,

of the spring 181 is assisted by the tension of the spring 197, one endof which is secured to the upper end of the link 190, and the upper endof which is secured to the vertical frame 165, at 198.l The upwardmovement of the link 190 is, however, resisted by the pressure of theend of the rod 199, (Fig. 4) which rests upon the upper end of a latch200, which is pivotally mounted upon a projection 201 extending from theupper end of the link 190 by the pin 202. The rod 199 is secured to thefree ends of the two links 203 and 204 (Figsv 4 and 5) which arerespectively pivotally mounted upon the end members of the cover plate bthe screws 205 and 206- respectively. l toiledspring 207 interposedbetween the top of the cover plate and the link 204 pushes thc rod 199downwardly with sufficient force to overcome the lifting tendencies uponthe link 190 of the spring 185 and 1,97.

For releasing the latch 200 from the rod 199 to permit the link 190 tomove upwardly and laterally inwardlv so as to cause the pawl 183 to bepositioned in the path of the tooth of the ratchet 184, we provide arelease key 210 which is sup orted by the vertical link 211 (see Figure4 The lower end of the link 211 is pivotally secured to one end of thebell crank lever comprising the two arms 212 and 213 by means of a pin214. The bell crank lever isv pivotally mounted upon the flange 7l ofthe supporting plate 7() by means of a screw 216. The upper end of the,armv 213 is connected by a link 217 with an intermediate portion of thelatch 200. A spring 218, one end of which is secured to the link-217,and the other end of which is secured to the flange 71, yieldingly holdsthe latch in a vertical position, and at the same time holds the releasekey 210 in its uppermost position. W lien the release key 210 isdepressed, the latch 200 is withdrawn from beneath the end of the rod199, which projects through a slot 219 in the flange 71, and thuspermits the springs 185, and 197 to move the link-190 upwardly andlaterally inwardly thereby causing the pawl 183 to be moved under thetension o the spring 185 into the path of the teeth of the ratchet 184.Continued downward movement of the release key 210 next causes the latch22() which forms an extension of the bell crank lever to be releasedfrom the stop 221, whereupon the drum rotates in a counterclockwisedirection (see Figure 4) under the influence of the spring 28, until thepawl 183` is engaged by one of the teeth of the ratchet 1,84 whereuponthe drum comes to rest. at a position determined by the weight of theobject placed upon the platform 145.

l'pon the release of the key 210, the, spring 218 will cause the latch200 to move into a positionextending above the rod 199 thereby holdingthe link 190 in its raised position. After the proper printing positionof the drum 10 has been determined as described above, the operator willstrike the key 88 corresponding to the '/.one to which the package is.to be shipped, thereby causing an indication of the properpostalpcharge to be impressed upon the paper ribbons corresonding to thekey pressed. From an inspection of Figure 5 it will be noted that theupper edge of the inner ends of all of the levers 86 engage the lowerside of the rod 199. Consequently, when any one of the keys 88 isdepressed, the rod 199 will be raised, thereby pushing the latch` 200laterally out of the path of the rod 199, and/permitting it to returnbeneath the rod 199 under the influence of the spring 218. Upon therelease of the key 88after the printing stroke has been made, the spring207 will force ithe rod 199 downwardly against the upper end of thelatch 200, thereby moving iso the link 190 downwardly and outwardly intoengagement with the offset end 191 of the lever 181, thus moving thepawl 183 out of engagement with the tooth ot' the ratchet 184 whereuponthe drum will resume its rotation under the tension of the spring 28,and rotate until the stop 221 is re-engaged by the latch 220, which uponthe release ol the key 210 is again moved into the path ot' the stop 221through the Iaction of the spring 218. The operator then tears ott theprinted portion of the ribbon which has been projected from the machinein the manner described above, and may attach it to the package toindicate the proper postal charge for this package. It will, of course,be understood that if our improved mechanism is merely to be used as anindicating device, the printing mechanism described can be omitted, andthe drum will then assume the form of a dial, the numbers of which couldbe observed through a suitable slot formed in the housing of themachine.

Vhile we have described the details ot' construction of the preferredembodiment of our improved weighing mechanism, it is to be clearlyunderstood that itis not limited to these details of construction, butis capable of other adaptations and. modifications within the scope ofthe appended claims. It is to be further understood that although wehave described our invention as applied to the determination of theproper charges to be made for mailing a package to any one of thedi'erent postal zones, this adaptation is merely illustrative, and thatour invention may be used wherever it is desired to determine quantitiesor values which depend upon two different variables.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. The combination with a drum having a plurality of rows of figurescorresponding in number to the number of postal zones and extendingcircumferentially thereof, the figures of each row being arranged inascending values corresponding to the postal charges for a given zone,the zero position of all of said rows lying in a line extendinglongitudinally of said drum, of a motor located inside said drum forrotating said drum, guide means for each of said rows of type figuresfor guiding a paper ribbon to a printing position over each of saidrows, the said guide means extending transversely of Said drum, aninking ribbon, means actuated by said drum for intermittently advancingsaid inking ribbon transversely of said paper ribbons, a platen foreo-acting with the type of each row of type figures to cause said ribbonto make printed impressions on said paper ribbons, a cover platepivotally mounted over said drum, a lever i'or actuating each of saidplatens, means for moistening one side of said paper ribbon,

said levers bein pivotally mounted on said cover plate, an meansactuated by each of said levers upon its return stroke for advancin thecorresponding paper ribbon throug its guideway, and over said moisteningmeans, a spiral ratchet carried by one end of said drum, a weighingmechanism comprising a stop movable proportionately to the Weightimposed onjsaid wei hing mechanism for engaging the teeth 0 said ratchetto determine the printin position of said drum, releasable meansorolding said drum in its zero position, and means actuated by any oneof said levers during its return stroke for releasing said stop fromsaid ratchet and permitting said drum to move to its zero position.

2. The combination with a drum having a plurality of rows of figurescorresponding in number to the number of postal zones and extendingcircumferentially thereof, the figures of each row being arranged inascending values corresponding to the postal charges for a given zone,the; zero position of all of said rows lying in a line extendinglongitudinally of said drum, of a motor for rotating said drum, guidemeans for each of said rows of type figures' for guiding a paper ribbonto a printing position over each of said rows, thesaid guide meansextending transversely of said drum, an inking ribbon, means forintermittently advancing said inking ribbon transversely of said paperribbons, a platen for co-acting with the type of each row of typefigures to cause said ribbon to make printed impressions on said paperribbons, a support mounted over said drum, a lever for actuating each ofsaid platens, said levers being pivotally mounted on said support, andmeans actuated by each of said levers for advancing the correspondingpaper ribbon through its guideway, a spiral ratchet carried by one endof said drum, a'weighing mechanism comprising a stop movableproportionately to the weight imposed on said weighing mechanism forengaging the teeth of said ratchet to determine the printing position ofsaid drum, releasable means for holding said drum in its zeroposition,`and means actuated by any one of said levers during its returnstroke for releasing said stop from said ratchet and permitting saiddrum to move to its zero position.

3. The combination with a druin having a plurality of rows of figurescorresponding in number to the number of postal zones and extendingcircumferentially thereof, the figures of each row being arranged inascending values corresponding to the postal charges for a given zone,o'f means for rotating said drum,`guide means for each of said rows oftype figures for guiding a paper ribbon to a printing position over eachof said rows, the said guide means extending said ribbon to make printedimpressions on -zero sition.

said paper ribbons, a support mounted overy said drum, a` lever foractuating each of said platens, said levers being pivotally mounted onsaid support,'and means actu ated by each of said levers for advancingtlievcorresponding paper ribbon through its .guideway, a ratchetconnected' with said drum, a weighing mechanism comprising a stopmovableI proportionately to the weight imposed on said weighingmechanism for engaging the teeth of said ratchet to determine theprinting positionofsaid drum, releasable means for lholding said drumin'its zero position, and means actuated by any one of said leversdilrin'g its return stroke for releasing saidA -stopirojlii said`ratchet and permittingsaid drum"to move to its e combination with adruin-having-a plurality of rows of figures corresponding 1n number tothe number s of -postal zones and extending circuniferentiallyv thereof,

the figures of eachrow being arranged'in ascending values correspondingto the postal charges for a given zone, of means for rotating said drum,guide means-for each of said rows of type figures for guidngapaperribbon to a printing position over each of said rows, the said guidemeans extending.

transversely of said drum, an inking ribbon',-

means `for vintermittently advancingsaid inking' ribbon transversely ofsaid paper ribbons, a platen for co-acting with the type of each row oftype figures to cause saidy ribbon to make printed impressions on saidpaper ribbons, a lever for actuating each of said latens, and meansactuated by each of said evers for advancing the corresponding paperribbon through its guideway, a ratchet connected with said drum, aweighing mechanism comprising a stop movable proportionately to theweight imposed on said weighing mechanism for engaging the teeth of saidratchet to determine the printing position of said drum, releasablemeans for holding said drum in its zero position, and common means forreleasing said stop from said ratchet and permitting said drum to moveto its zero lposition.

5. The combination with a drum having a plurality of rows of figurescorresponding in number vto the number of postal zones,

.the figures 'of each row being'arranged in ascending valuescorresponding to the postal charges for a given zone, of means forrotating said drum; guide means for each of said rows of type figuresfor guiding a paper ribbon to a printing *position over each lof saidrows, the said guide means extending transversely of said drum, a platenfor coacting with the'type o'f each row of type fig- `ures to makeprinted impressions on said paper ribbons, means for actuating each ofsaid platens', and means for advancin each of Said paper ribbons throughits gui eway, a weighing mechanism, means for releasing Said drum topermit it to rotate, and means controlled by said weighing mechanism fordetermining the printing position of said drum.

6. The combination with a drum having a pluralityl of rows of typefigures corresponding in number to the number of postal zones andextending circumferentially thereof, the figures of each row beingarranged iii ascending values corresponding Vto the postal charges for agiven zone, of means adjacent each row for guiding a paper strip intoprinting position, means `for oofacting with each row of figures formakving printed impressions on its associated paper strip, means forrotating said drum and paper strip guiding meansy relatively to 'eachother, and means actuated by the Weight of an object for controllingsaid last named means. s a a7. In a computing mechanism, the combinationwith a drum having rows of indicia, each row arranged circumferentiallyin ascending values corresponding to the computed charges for any givenfactor, of means 'forrotating said drum in a continuous direction,meansfor holding said drum when it returns to a normal position, aweighing mechanism, cooperating means on said drum and said weighingmechanism for determining, by the weight of an object on said weighingmechanism, the position of said drum, a release for said holding meansallowing said drum to rotate to said deter,

mined position, the release of said cooperating means allowing said drumto return to said normal position, and an index which cooperates withsaid indicia for giving com`r puted charges.

8. The combination with a drum having va row of type figures arranged inascending values corresponding to the postal charges for a given zone,of means fortguiding a paper strip into vposition to receive animpression from said type figures, means actuated by, andproportionately to, the Weight of an object 4for determining therelative positions of said drum and guiding means, and power means forrotating said guiding means and said drum relatively to each other in acontinuous direction.

9. The combination with a printing mechanism having type for printingnumbers corresponding to the various postal charges for a given postalzone on a piece of paper, of a weighing mechanism comprising a stopmovable in proportion to the weight im- `posed on said weighingmechanism, andl cing esiti?. el Pelle? sei-' type i actuating.; seinsolo peper strip in for rotating seid cunt of rotes actuated by forJeleesing nient 'fox c .L',.. l: 'l E :ion oi seit. erom seid i seidstop confor l in

movement of saicl 'I t in eid printing relation vpe of corresponding tothe Weight t on seid weighing mechanism, and selectively actuating oneof seid pletens to print said poner the indicie o c, reine correspondingto the Weight o obiect to seid other factor.'

i3. The combination of e, set of type corresponding to velues determinedby two var.' ole factors one of which is weight, means for holrlin,` epiece of? peper in printing re- ,sition to seii type, s plurality ofplntens corresponding' to the other o said factors, each, riie-Yetuetcfl cooperating with said type to pri on scid peper, meme tormoving said type relative to seid peperin a. continuous direcme; saidtype at its ese for seid stop, a

rising; en eie seid ,mechanism and Seid set of. type for limi" .g seidreietire movement of said type to p "esent in printing relation type ofvelues corresponding to the weight of an object on said mechanism, saidcooperating Ineens comprisinpr u ratchet and :i stop adapted to contactwith said ratchet, and means for selectively actuating one of saidplatone to print on said paper the indicia of a,v value corresponding tothe weight of said object und to seid other factor, the releese of thefirst-mentioned stop permitting,r

seid type to more relatively to said paper to the position determined bysaid cooperating ineens, ond the release of said cooperating ineenspermittingr said type to move reletively to said peper to sind normalposition.

lei. The combination of a set of type corresponding;l to valuesdetermine by two viirialole factors, one of which is Weight, means forholding u plurality of pieces of paper in printing relation to saidtype, a plurality of platens, each of seid platens being associsted withone of said pieces of peper, and each, when actuated, cooperating withsaid type to print indicia` of one of said values on its associatedpiece of paper, means controlled by the movement of euch of said pletensto eject e length of its said associated paper, means for moving saidtype relatively to said paper, e weighing mechanism, cooperating meanson said mechanism and said set of type for limiting said relativemovement of said type to present in printration type of valuescorrespondingvto time Weight of an object on said mechanism, saidcooperstin means comprising a'ratchet and a stop a apted to contact withsaid ratchet, sind means for selectively actuating one of said platensto print on its said associeted p11-per theindicinl of o. valuecorresponding to 'the Weight of said object and to said other factor.

l5. The combination with a drum having n row of type figures extendingcircumferentially thereof and arranged in ascending valuescorresponding;r to the charges for any given mne, of a. platen forco-acting wit said type figures, means for guiding a paper ribbonbetween said platen and said type figures, common means for actuatingsaid platen and advancing said paper strip in said guideway, means forrotating said drum, a weighing,r mechanism, means for determining theamount of rotation of said drum, said last mentioned means comprising afao-operating ratchet and stop, one of which 1s on said weighingmechanism, and the other of which is on said drum, and means ectuated bysaid platen actuating means for releasing said drum from the control ofsaid determining means.

16. The combination with a drum having a plurality of rows of typefigures extending circumferentially thereof auch row ar- Lannoo rangedin ascending values corresponding to the computed charges for a givenrate, of a plurality of platens for co-acting with said type figures,means 'for guiding a plurality of paper ribbons between said platens and'said type figures., means for selectively actuating said platens, means'for rotating said drum, a ratchet on said drum, weighing meanscomprising a stop contacting with said ratchet for determining theamount of rotation of said drum, and means 'for releasing said drum fromthe control of said element.

'In witness whereof we hereunto subscribe our names as follows:

St. Louis, Miss0u1'i, February 14th, 192L FRANK B. MTLFORD. Witnesses:

H. P. RUEWAR, F. C. Ho'rmmm. Chicago, Iliinois, Februarylth, 1921. JOHNDAVID DICKINSON. Witnesses: y

ALBIN CC AHLBERG, OLIVER H. PARMELEE,

